Navigating Parental Resistance: Learning from Responses of LGBTQ-Inclusive Elementary School Teachers

Abstract

One of the most common responses from pre- and in-service teachers related to addressing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) topics in elementary school is a concern about parents’ responses. This article explores these concerns by examining two elementary school teachers’ interactions with parents in relation to their LGBTQ-inclusive teaching. This article provides a possible road map for other teachers who are nervous about parental responses to LGBTQ-inclusive teaching and interrupts notions that negative responses from parents are reason enough to avoid including these topics in elementary classrooms.

Additional Resources

1. The National Council of Teachers of English Resources for intellectual freedom website:

http://www2.ncte.org/resources/ncte-intellectual-freedom-center/

The National Council of Teachers of English has an Intellectual Freedom Center that can help should you receive any complaints about books you read. Information available includes policy statements, rationales for reading challenged books, activities to celebrate Banned Books Week, and a system for reporting a censorship challenge

2. The American Library Association Intellectual Freedom website:

www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif

The American Library Association also has an Office for Intellectual Freedom where anyone facing a book challenge can get confidential support.

3. GLSEN information about state laws website:

www.glsen.org/article/state-maps

Laws and policies that support safe schools often detail protections for LGBTQ students and can be a good source of positive support for justifying teachers’ inclusive pedagogical decisions. Chief among these are states’ and districts’ nondiscrimination and antibullying laws and policies, known collectively as safe school laws. State antibullying laws or district policies prohibit bullying and harassment of students in schools. State nondiscrimination laws or district policies provide protection from discrimination to LGBTQ students in schools. You can find information about your state at this site.

Notes

¹ We understand parents in this article to be inclusive of all types of adult caregivers of children, whether those be biological parents, adoptive parents, step parents, foster parents, grandparents, extended-kin networks, or other arrangements. We use parents here for clarity and because it is overwhelmingly the way teachers most often frame their questions and concerns related to LGBTQ topics.

² See, for example, http://ncac.org/resource/krrp-lgbtq-content-right-to-read-resource and http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article20991027.html.